Senate approves bill to allow "open-carry" of guns without permits in Tennessee

Bill removing permit requirement moves to House

Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, seen here in a file photo, is the sponsor of a bill that would allow any Tennessean who is not legally barred from possessing a gun to openly carry a handgun on their persons, without a permit, as long as it can seen by others. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)

AP Photo/Erik Schelzig

NASHVILLE — The state Senate approved a bill Tuesday that, if approved by the House, would allow any Tennessean who can legally possess a gun to openly carry a handgun, without a permit, as long as it can seen by others.

Current law requires a handgun-carry permit to carry a gun either openly or concealed. Prerequisites for a Tennessee permit include gun safety training by a certified instructor, a criminal-background check and a $115 fee. Senate Bill 2424, which passed 25-2 with no debate, would remove the permit requirement — and its training mandate — to "open carry" a gun in Tennessee, and leave a permit and training requirement only for "concealed carry."

In either case, the carrier must be legally eligible to possess a gun, which excludes convicted felons who have not had their citizenship rights restored.

Open-carry means the gun is carried in plain view of others, as in a belt holster, on the streets and any place where guns are not specifically banned.

To become law, the bill must also win approval in the House of Representatives and then be signed by the governor.

The Tennessee Firearms Association, surprised by the margin of the Senate victory, immediately launched a full-court press by its members to contact House members in support of the bill.

"Right now, your urgent action is needed to see this bill all the way through to becoming a law before they kill it for the year," TFA Executive Director John Harris said in an e-mail blast to his members. "Unfortunately, several weak-kneed Republicans in the state House... are preventing this bill from coming to the floor for a full vote. It is also critical to call and e-mail Speaker Beth Harwell with demands that she intervene and bring this bill immediately to the floor," Harris wrote.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, read from its prologue that the "right to keep and bear arms is protected" by the federal and state constitutions and that the U.S. Supreme Court held in its 1943 Murdock v. Pennsylvania ruling that "no state shall convert a liberty into a privilege, license it and attach a fee to it."

"Requiring Tennesseans to pay for and obtain a permit to publicly carry a handgun in all forms, including openly and while in a motor vehicle, current Tennessee law converts the right to carry a handgun into a privilege," Beavers said.

She said 29 states "generally allow" a person to carry a gun openly without a permit and that 28, "to varying degrees and with varying restrictions, allow a person to posses a loaded gun in a vehicle without a permit... Such activity has not caused increased danger to public safety or resulted in increased crime.

"The intent of this act is to remove restrictions which may prohibit persons who are not otherwise prohibited from possessing a handgun to openly carry handguns within this state without the necessity of a handgun carry permit," she said.

Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, voted for the bill but has consistently said he supports the permit system. When the issue first surfaced in January, he told reporters he liked the fact that people were getting training and background checks before getting a permit.

The Senate postponed voting on a separate bill that would remove authority of local governments to regulate guns, including authority to ban them from local parks.

The Senate earlier approved another bill prohibiting cities and counties from keeping guns out of local parks but that bill is also awaiting House approval.